Compressed reed for weaving, &amp;c.



PATBNTED SEPT. G. 1304V GA3. HOYLE. COMPRBSSED REED FOR WEAVING, @50.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16. 1904.

N0 MODEL` Lungau. wsu

UNITED STATES Patented September 6, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. HOYLE, OF LEOMINSTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT L. CROWELL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AND RAYMOND S. CASE, OF UNIONVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

COMPRESSED REED FOR'WEAVING, 61.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,383, dated September 6, 1904.;

Original application filed May 29, 1903, Serial No. 159,274.

To rtl] mlm/1l if ma. concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HoYLE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Leominster, in the county of I/Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Compressed Reed for Veaving and Braiding, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to a compact or compressed reed formed from a fibrous material and adapted to be used in weaving, plaiting, or braiding to take the place of wooden reeds and ratan heretofore used in the several arts of manufacture.

This application is a division of an original application filed May 29, 1903, Serial- No. 159,274.

The object of the invention is to produce as an article of manufacture a reed which is a perfect substitute and, in fact, may be used to better advantage and with greater vsaving thai the ordinary ratan and wooden reed is use A further object is to produce a manufactured reed which when formedinto shape will have great strength equal to the ordinary Wooden reed in common use and the added advantage of much more resiliency.

A still further object is to produce a reed by pressing a fibrous material `into proper shape and of indefinite lengths in counter-distinction to the comparatively short lengths of ordinary wooden reeds.

The particular object in the present application is to produce a round reed of the class described-that is, a reed having a uniform gage of round cross-section-made in indefinite lengths.

It 4is also the object to produce such a reed Without disturbing or distorting the lay 0f the fibers of the material, as is the case in twisted reed or twine-like material which is produced by twisting strips of paperfor like material and compressing it or causing it to maintain its form by the use of adhesives.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l illus- Divided and this application filed January 16, 1904. Serial (No model.)

trates a bobbin filled with the manufactured reed. Fig. 2 illustrates the reed on enlarged scale. Fig. 3 illustrates the reed woven or braided to form a finish or border. Fig. 4 illustrates the reed woven into a fabric.

It has long been common practice in the arts and manufacture to weave, plait, or braid strips of ratan and reed to form baby-carriages, baskets, chairbottoms, and many other articles; and the present invention has for its object the producing of a material from a fibrous material which will take the place in many instances of said ratan or reed and to secure such a material as will embody the many advantages inherent in ratan or reeds, but which will be much more pliable and may be made in any length desired.

The ordinary ratan or reed cannot be se-A cured in lengths beyond given limits, and it is thus necessary to form many overlaps and joints in weaving or braiding any structure, which not only weaken said structures, but are unsightly in appearance. the reed herein described and claimed any length desired may be secured. For instance, several hundred feet may be Wound upon a bobbin and fed continuously through a suit-Y able Weavingor braiding machine to produce a finlshed structure of the woven' materi-al practically free from joints and breaks and one which will take any desired finish even more readily than the regular ratan.

In using a compressed strip or reed formed of fibrous material there are particular advantages. Itis very resilient and when bent or wound to form plaiting or interlaced with other materials there is little or no tendency for it to crack out. It forms an extremely strong article which will stand much abuse, and even sharp blows will not cause fractures in the material, as they will if the ratan or Wooden reed is struck a sharp blow. This extreme strength and pliability is due in great measure to the formation of the compressed reeds,

-Which being formed of fibrous material cornpressed into proper form without twisting or In the use of distorting the fibers produces a reed which has little or no tendency to crack open or breakin use. l `urthermore, these compressed reeds will take a very high degree of linish, for the finishingmaterial permeates the fibers and takes a lirmhold thereon. The compressed reeds herein described are formed from a librous material composed of any desired ingredients which will form a suitable plastic pulp that may be formed into the re- 5 quired thickness and which being subjected to heavy pressures is compressed into a hoj mogeneous mass. ln practice these round reeds of compressed material maybe formed I by first building upa sheet or web of subi stantially square cross-section and then reducingl said strips by compressing them into a round form, or they may be formed in Hat strips of snbstantiall)Y square or rectani gular cross-section and skived or eut as to the 3 edges to `give the required round form: but in either case the material is first formed into E a pulp-likemass and subsequently compressed into the reeds.

A particular advantage in the use of this compressed reed resides not only in the better-finished product, but in the great saving A 'of waste. ln the use of ordinary ratan or l reeds, which at the start are expensive, there 3 is a great amount of waste owing to the fixed l lengths of such material. ln the reed herein described there need be no waste at all, inasmuch as the strips of reed may be made in any desired length and may be woven or l braided by hand or machine and cut off without a waste of material.

.In using ordinary ratan for purposes of mamifacture' in baskets, carriages. and like articles it must be bleached and put through processes 'tc secure the desired effects of finish, lwhich to a great extent impoverish the strength of the material and, in fact,'often l make it extremely brittle in addition to adding greatly to the expense of manufacture. In the compressed reed herein described the action of bleaches and finishing materials does not have the same deleterious effects. First of all it is not necessalryto bleach the compressed strips, as they may be given any de sired color While in plastic form and are ready for use without further treatment when used in machine or hand weaving or braiding.

length used.

The compressed strips may be made absolutely uniform, which 1s-a further advantage,

as ratan often varies with each different The terms fibrous pulp and Lplastic7 g material are used throughout the specification and appear in the claims, as Well as the term compressed reed. These terms indicate the nature of the article of" manufacture and are used to. differentiate it from such materials as are commonly made in twinelike form. These latter are commonly formed by twisting up paper or like substances.

often in conjunction with an adhesive, and' may or may not be compressed into various cross-sectional forms. 1nA any event material so formed has its fiber distorted, warped, or twisted, while in the article herein described and claimed the liber is laid in a natural manner, as by precipitation or gravitation, and is then reduced, producing reeds vin which the liber is undisturbed as toits natural lay and is never warped or twisted. The structure is complete, and there is nothing about it which can untwist o r separate to cause deteriorationl It is a composite structure formed of' fiber ref duced to a homogeneous, hard, though resilient material.

secure by Letters Patent, is V/ 1. As an article ofmanufacture, a compressed reed formed from a fibrous pulp material, and having a circular cross-section.

2. As an article of manufacture,a compressed reed formed from a fibrous, plastic material, and hav-ing a circular' cross-section.

3. As an article of manufacture, a corn- 'pressed reed formed from a fibrous material reduced toa homogeneous, hard, resilient body, w-ith the fibers in natural position, and having a circular cross-section.

4. As an article of manufacture, a compressed reed formed from a fibrous material, said'materfial condensed and hardened into a reed withfthe fiber untwisted 'andv non-diss torted, and having a circular cross-section.

5. As' a new article of manufacture, a compressed reed formed from laminae of fibrous material reduced and hardened into a reedv WVM. H'. BAKKER, LENA E. BaRKovrrcH.

'hat l claim as my invention, and desire to i 

